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AniMat Classic Reviews - Fantasia
AniMat Classic Reviews - Fantasia '''is an episode of AniMat Classic Reviews and an episode made in 2017. Having declared this film to be his all-time favorite Disney film, AniMat lets out all of his praise for one of the greatest animated films of all time, praising its concept, animation, and music, though has a minor nitpick over the dinosaur segment for being very slow-moving, though not in a bad way and still calls that segment all-around impressive. He ultimately gives it the AniMat Seal of Approval and a score of '''10/10, but considers that achievement nothing compared to Fantasia being considered one of the greatest films of all time. Transcript Scene 1: Introduction * AniMat (voiceover): The year is 1936. Walt Disney was in the middle of development on his first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. While he was maintaining his business, he noticed that the popularity of his biggest star, Mickey Mouse, was declining, and had a crazy and unique idea to bring him back in the spotlight. The plan? Have Mickey star in an adaptation of the Goethe poem, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. However, unlike any of the cartoons the studio has done before, this one would be a lot more serious and ambitious, a piece that would have the animation be purely controlled by the classical music. Luckily, one day, Walt met composer Leopold Stokowski, who, after a little chat, was happily willing to work for him for free. But even with that, it wouldn’t stop the budget to get bigger than the company hoped for because of Walt’s demands for a “special treatment”. However, for Disney, this was not a problem. In fact, this opened up an all-new opportunity to make several segments that share a similar concept to “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and combined them into one ultimate concert feature. The results? Well... (chuckles) ...let’s find out. Scene 2: Story * AniMat (voiceover): The entire point of the movie is to introduce a unique type of genre in both filmmaking and animation, one that is completely controlled by the music, where the script has been replaced by the music sheet. In terms of how it tells a story, there are three different kinds to present this new mixture of animation and music. The first kind is music that exists simply for its own sake, where it would show a series of images that would be interpreted as the visual representation of the sound. The movie would begin with this one with Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”. The second tells a definite story, where it would present a linear plot from beginning to end. Of course, there’s no better example of this than with “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, where a young apprentice, played by Mickey Mouse, tried performing some magic so that it would do the work for him, but doesn’t know how to stop it. The third, and the most common one, is the kind that, while it has no specific plot, does paint a series of more or less definite pictures, where it shows a bunch of characters and what they normally do. Sometimes, these would incorporate a theme to match the music, including the changing of the seasons in Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite”, the times of the day in Ponchielli’s “Dance of the Hours”, and the ultimate battle of good and evil with “Night on Bald Mountain” and “Ave Maria”. Separately, all these segments are completely different from one another in terms of tone and style. But together, they illustrate the endless capabilities of the art of animation with music. * (Footage of the Nutcracker Suite, the Waltz of the Flowers segment, is briefly shown) * AniMat (voiceover): If there has to be a piece of criticism on this, it would have to be on the “Rite of Spring” segment. The biggest issue with it is that the pacing feels ridiculously slow. You don’t even get the dinosaurs until 10 minutes in, and everything before it is nothing but volcanoes. Then again, that’s just nitpicking, and the segment itself is still very well done, along with having a memorably great intense moment. Instead of offering a story, the movie delivers a whole new way of storytelling altogether. Scene 3: Animation * AniMat (voiceover): Out of all the films that Disney has ever created, none have ever displayed such masterfully crafted artistry using a wide variety of styles as much as this. This was carefully made by some of the greatest animators of all time in order to bring out all the tricks that they know, along with inventing new ones to get that perfect illusion that they were aiming for. Whether they be liberal or abstract, these are some of the greatest examples of Disney animation of the Golden Era. When it comes to the design and the animation on the characters, it mainly incorporates the classic Disney look that would be used in their Silly Symphony series during the late 1930s and the early 1940s. Not as realistic as Snow White or the Blue Fairy, and has a good use of Squash and Stretch, but still show that the animators have grown more professionally since the early black and white days. * (Footage of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice", showing Mickey Mouse dreaming of being a powerful sorcerer, is briefly shown) * AniMat (voiceover): However, there are a few exceptions that go for a different look with their characters, like the realistic Hell-like depiction of Chernabog and his demons in “Night on Bald Mountain”, the scientifically accurate portrayal of the dinosaurs in “Rite of Spring”, or the many levels of abstract it would go, from the plants in “Nutcracker Suite” to “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”. However, in each segment, it holds on to a unique visual element that makes it stand out as one of the best achievements in the medium. In “Toccata”, it succeeds at making people watching the music. In “Nutcracker”, it’s the use of natural elements and have them dance to the music, rather it be literally or figuratively. In “Sorcerer”, it’s taking a beloved character to a whole new level. In “Spring”, it’s bringing dinosaurs to life in a believable manner. In the intermission, it’s turning something like a soundtrack into a character. In “The Pastoral Symphony”, it’s the use of colors and animating mythological creatures. In “Dance of the Hours”, it’s the character animation of having animals perform ballet. And in “Night on Bald Mountain” with “Ave Maria”, it’s the innovations of presenting how Chernabog unleashes hell, along with some of the strongest uses of the multi-plane camera. Not only is this film a visual marvel, but it’s also one of the greatest achievements in animation. Scene 4: Characters * AniMat (voiceover): Technically, there isn’t a reason to actually discuss this. Since this is unlike any other feature film, nobody would be considered either a protagonist or an antagonist. They’re all just present to move with the music. Actually, that’s one of the best components about this as an animated feature. Since there are no sound effects or dialogue heard throughout the segments, the real stars of the feature are not the actors, but the animators, whose drawings of facial expressions and body movements would explain all that you would need to know about the characters. The only time you’d ever hear someone talking would be the little clip after “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”... * Mickey Mouse: My congratulations, sir. * Leopold Stokowski: Congratulations to you, Mickey. * Mickey Mouse: Gee, thanks. * AniMat (voiceover): ...and from the Master of Ceremonies, composer and music critic Deems Taylor. In the original Roadshow version, which you can now find on DVD and Blu-Ray, Taylor’s role is to inform the audience what they will get themselves into with each segment, giving context on what the animators were going with. * Deems Taylor: Here, on Walpurgnisnacht, which is the equivalent of our own Halloween, the creatures of evil gather to worship their master. Under his spell, they dance furiously. * AniMat (voiceover): The most you would actually get as a formal character is Mickey himself, who plays an eager apprentice who is over his head when he got control of his master’s magic powers. Like in his old cartoons, he can be a little mischievous, but never meant any harm. As for the others, the best way to describe it is similar to the characters of the Disney Parks, like in Pirates of the Caribbean. We’re only shown a glimpse of what they normally do in their lives, and they do their best to make the most out of their short time to have an impact onto the audience. Some can come out as more comedic, like in the ones in “Dance of the Hours” and “The Pastoral Symphony”, while others can pose as a massive threat like the T-Rex in “Rite of Spring” or Chernabog in “Night on Bald Mountain”. The movie is not about knowing who these characters are. Their role in the film is to help visually bring the music to life, and they’ve accomplished this tremendously. Scene 5: Verdict * AniMat (voiceover): Fantasia is one of Walt Disney’s greatest animated features he has ever created with his team. The ultimate blend of master class animation and beloved classical music would become an entirely unique art form that would take both the medium and filmmaking in general into a whole new level. It’s one of the very rare examples that legitimizes that animation is art, not just as a cinematic medium, but on par with painting and sculpture. For any fan of Disney, animation, classical music, or just movies in general, you must watch this. This movie is an accomplishment that would ultimately help creatively shape animation into becoming what it is today. Well... (chuckles) ...of course it gets the AniMat Seal of Approval, there’s no question about it. But that is nothing compared to the true achievement it earned as one of the greatest animated films of all time. Ratings * Story: 9/10 * Animation: 10/10 * Characters: 10/10 * Overall: 10/10 (Note: The music that plays during the "Ratings" section is not the usual music, but the ending of "Ave Maria") Category:AniMat's Classic Reviews